What are US carriers doing regarding 5G densification, and are comprehensive deals being discussed? What's driving the interconnection acceleration at CoreSite? Explain the mechanics of the upcoming convertible note conversion for the CoreSite JV and potential for increased ownership.

Densification is already translating into more co-locations in the pipeline, consistent with expectations for the capacity phase of 5G. Interconnection growth at CoreSite is broad-based, driven by AI and cloud adoption, as customers need to move large data volumes efficiently. The Stonepeak convertible note will convert to equity in Q3, increasing their ownership to ~36% and reducing American Tower's to ~64%, with no material AFFO impact as the distribution becomes attributable AFFO. “it's exactly what we thought we would see at this point and there is a change in the volume of new colocations that we're seeing.”

Are you in contact with satellite providers exploring terrestrial deployments? What other levers can be pulled to expand the CoreSite development pipeline beyond new markets?

Existing satellite providers are current customers; if they pursue terrestrial infrastructure, American Tower is confident they would partner for efficient build-out. For CoreSite, expansion options include new markets, expanding existing campuses (best investment opportunities), and small inorganic acquisitions, but only for highly interconnected ecosystems, not undifferentiated colo. “We bought a small data center in Miami a few years ago. We have a couple of data centers at American Tower or the CoreSite acquisition. Those have worked out very well for us. So those are things that we would consider.”

What does adding upper C-band mean for towers? Will higher gigahertz blocks for 6G go on towers? What is the status of DISH equipment on towers post-bankruptcy? Can you elaborate on the share buyback strategy?

Lower band spectrum will be deployed, generating revenue. Upper C-band will go on towers, driving significant activity. Higher frequency 6G blocks will also go on towers, forming the backbone of 6G, requiring more densification. DISH equipment remains on towers, but details are subject to litigation. Share buybacks are part of a consistent capital allocation strategy, with $200M allocated year-to-date from a $2B program. “Towers will be the backbone of 6G, just like it was the backbone of 5G, 4G and 3G. And we think that, that will drive significant activity on towers over time as those bans become available, but we also think that's going to require more densification.”

AMT

American Tower (AMT) Q2 FY26 earnings call: guidance and Q&A

Earnings call· Jun 2026 (Q2 FY26)· Real Estate· Jul 28, 2026

Source: earnings call transcript

Executive summary

American Tower Q2 FY26 — Strong Leasing Demand and Raised Full-Year Outlook

American Tower delivered a strong second quarter, driven by robust global tower leasing and record data center performance, leading to a second upward revision of its full-year outlook. The company is strategically focused on developed markets and high-quality earnings streams, evidenced by the CoreSite expansion and APAC divestitures, positioning it for an inflection in AFFO per share growth in 2027 as current headwinds ease.

Highlights

Consolidated property revenue grew over 5% year-over-year (excluding noncash straight-line revenue and FX impacts), and over 7% on a cash FX-neutral basis normalized for DISH churn.
Data center revenue growth was approximately 12% (excluding noncash straight-line revenue), marking the fifth consecutive quarter of double-digit growth.
CoreSite achieved another record leasing performance, adding more new business in Q2 FY26 than in the entire year of 2021.
Full-year outlook raised for the second time this year across all key consolidated financial metrics, including a 1% increase to property revenue outlook and 1% increase to adjusted EBITDA outlook.
Leverage ended the quarter at 4.9x, within the target range of 3x to 5x, maintaining a strong credit profile.

Concerns

Cash adjusted EBITDA margins declined approximately 40 basis points year-over-year, primarily due to DISH-related churn and SG&A timing.
Attributable FFO per share growth was approximately 1% (excluding FX impacts), with refinancing costs representing an approximately 150 basis point headwind for the full year.
Latin America organic growth declined over 2%, primarily driven by elevated churn in Brazil.

Guidance & targets

Category	Target	Timeline	Confidence
Organic tenant billings growth (global tower business)	approximately 4% high materiality	FY26	High
Data center revenue growth	approximately 15% high materiality	FY26	High
Property revenue growth (ex-noncash straight-line & FX)	nearly 4% year-over-year growth high materiality	FY26	High
Property revenue growth (cash FX-neutral, ex-DISH churn)	approximately 6% growth high materiality	FY26	High
Adjusted EBITDA growth (ex-noncash net straight-line & FX)	over 2% growth year-over-year high materiality	FY26	High
Adjusted EBITDA growth (cash FX-neutral, ex-DISH churn)	approximately 5% growth high materiality	FY26	High
Attributable AFFO per share growth	approximately 3% year-over-year high materiality	FY26	High
Attributable AFFO per share growth (FX-neutral, ex-DISH churn & refinancing costs)	nearly 6% growth high materiality	FY26	High
Long-term AFFO per share growth	mid- to high single-digit range high materiality	Long-term	High
Services revenue	$245 million medium materiality	FY26	High
Capital program	nearly $1.9 billion high materiality	FY26	High
Discretionary capital allocation to developed markets	approximately 85% high materiality	FY26	High
Capital spend in data center portfolio	over $700 million high materiality	FY26	High
Capital spend to construct new towers globally	approximately $370 million medium materiality	FY26	High
Capital spend to purchase land beneath towers	approximately $210 million medium materiality	FY26	High
Share repurchases	over $200 million medium materiality	YTD FY26	High

Segment performance

Segment	Revenue	YoY	QoQ	Margin
Consolidated Property Revenue Excluding noncash straight-line revenue and FX impacts. Cash FX-neutral growth (normalized for DISH churn): over 7%	over 5% YoY	over 5%	—	—
Consolidated Organic Tenant Billings Growth Driven by solid demand across the global portfolio. Excluding DISH churn: approximately 4%	—	nearly 2%	—	—
US & Canada Consistent with expectations for durable growth. Organic growth excluding DISH churn: approximately 5%	—	nearly 1%	—	—
Africa & APAC Churn is expected to be back-half weighted. Organic growth H1: approximately 10%Organic growth H2 expected: approximately 7%	—	nearly 11%	—	—
Europe Solid mid-single-digit organic tenant billings growth, performing better than original underwriting.	—	approximately 4%	—	—
Latin America Primarily driven by elevated churn in Brazil, consistent with expectations.	—	declined over 2%	—	—
Data Center Property revenue growth when excluding noncash straight-line revenue. Fifth consecutive quarter of double-digit revenue growth.	approximately 12%	approximately 12%	—	—

Orderbook & backlog

CoreSite Megawatts Under Construction 36 megawatts Q2 FY26

8% leased

Deals & partnerships

null Sale of operations in the Philippines and Bangladesh, marking exit from APAC region.

The divestitures occurred in mid to late June 2026, and the revised outlook now excludes contributions from these regions for the remainder of the year.

Capital programs

Data Center Portfolio Expansion underway

Period spend: over $700 million

Benefit:nearly triple our capacity

Part of the 2026 growth capital plan, focused on developing more capacity in the data center portfolio. Management continues to evaluate opportunities to expand the development pipeline even further.

New Towers Construction underway

Period spend: approximately $370 million

Part of the 2026 growth capital plan, for constructing new towers globally.

Land Purchase Beneath Towers underway

Period spend: approximately $210 million

Part of the 2026 growth capital plan, for purchasing land beneath existing towers.

Risks & headwinds

DISH-related churn FY26

approximately 40 basis points impact on cash adjusted EBITDA margins; 400 basis points headwind to AFFO per share growth (normalized for non-recurring headwinds).

Mitigation:The company is 'on the other side of the DISH churn issue' and expects no DISH churn impact in 2027.

Higher interest rates and refinancing costs FY26

approximately 150 basis point headwind to attributable AFFO per share growth (up from 100 bps in prior outlook).

Mitigation:Proactive steps taken to reduce floating rate debt.

Services revenue step-down FY26

approximately 1% headwind to AFFO per share growth (from $340M in 2025 to $240M in 2026).

Mitigation:Underpinned by a broad base of services provided to customers, including end-to-end solutions and strong contributions from acquisition, zoning, and permitting services.

Elevated churn in Brazil Q2 FY26

Latin America organic growth declined over 2% primarily driven by elevated churn in Brazil.

Mitigation:Encouraged by prospects of an earlier-than-expected market repair in Brazil and forthcoming acceleration in organic growth in 2027.

What to watch in Q3 FY26

CoreSite Convertible Note Conversion

Q3 FY26

Current Stonepeak owns ~28% equity and holds a convertible note.

Target Stonepeak ownership increases to ~36% equity, American Tower to ~64%.

Why it matters

This conversion will impact the ownership structure and attributable AFFO calculation for the CoreSite joint venture, clarifying future financial reporting.

In Q3, we will expect -- we expect that to convert to equity. So that will move the ownership percentage of Stonepeak up to about 36% or move ours down to about 64%.

Find out whether AMT delivers this. Inve re-checks your case every morning.

Q&A highlights

What are the best investment opportunities now that leverage is in target range and APAC is exited? Any comments on buybacks or domestic M&A? What drove data center outperformance (lease rate vs. occupancy)?

Management prioritizes domestic and developed market towers, and CoreSite expansion, citing 5G densification, new spectrum, AI, and 6G as catalysts. CoreSite offers mid-teen stabilized yields. Buybacks are in the toolkit, with $200M allocated year-to-date. Data center outperformance was broad-based, driven by strong sales in traditional and retail customers, hybrid multi-cloud, AI use cases, mark-to-market trends, and a significant inflection in interconnection activity.

“from my perspective, the top priorities are domestic and developed market towers and data centers. Our internal CapEx program has provided us a lot of opportunities to invest, and that's been through build-to-suits and this organic builds in the CoreSite.”

asked by Michael Ng · answered by Steven Vondran

2 min read 5 chapters

Detailed narrative

Strategic Priorities and Market Tailwinds

American Tower is focused on driving durable revenue growth, enhancing operational efficiency, and disciplined capital allocation. The company benefits from secular trends like mobile data consumption, cloud adoption, and AI-driven workloads, which are increasing demand for critical digital infrastructure globally. These trends are driving a growing need for the critical infrastructure that American Tower provides, reinforcing its long-term growth story.

5G Investment Cycle and Future Catalysts

The industry is entering a capacity-focused phase of the 5G cycle, requiring network densification, which is already translating into more co-locations. Upcoming spectrum deployments (800 MHz, upper C-band in 2027), the eventual transition to 6G, and the emergence of AI applications are expected to drive significant network investment and demand for tower infrastructure well into the next decade.

These catalysts are anticipated to create multiple overlapping demand drivers, supporting network investment.

CoreSite Outperformance and Expansion

CoreSite continues to be the fastest-growing segment, delivering record leasing performance driven by hyperscale cloud providers, enterprises, and AI innovators. Its strategic position as a hub for AI traffic and data exchange, with 9 of the top 10 AI companies and 3 of the top 5 Neo clouds deployed, enhances its competitive advantage.

The company has grown megawatts in service by 1.5x since acquisition and has a clear path to nearly triple capacity, with ongoing evaluation for further expansion.

Operational Efficiency and Capital Allocation

The company has expanded tower cash EBITDA margins by over 300 basis points in the last three years and targets an additional 200-300 basis points by 2030, exploring AI and automation for productivity. Capital allocation is focused on developed markets and higher-quality earnings streams, as demonstrated by the divestiture of Philippines and Bangladesh operations, which is expected to be neutral to AFFO per share growth while enhancing portfolio quality and focus.

Balance Sheet Strength and AFFO Growth Outlook

American Tower maintains a strong balance sheet with leverage at 4.9x, within its target range of 3x to 5x, and a strong credit rating. Despite headwinds from higher interest rates and services revenue step-down, the company expects 2026 to be a trough year for attributable AFFO per share growth, with a meaningful inflection and return to mid-to-high single-digit growth expected in 2027 as these non-recurring headwinds ease.

Summary of the company's earnings call; see how call summaries are prepared. Not investment advice.